William goff sears



(No Model.)

W. G. SEARS.

COTTON HARVBSTER.

Patented Apr 6 UNITED STATES PATENT Prion.

WILLIAM GOFF SEAR-S, OF OHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE, ASSIG-NOR OF ONE- HALF TO HIRAM SANBQRN CHAMBERLAIN, OE SAME PLACE.

COTTON-HARVESTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 339,482, dated April 6, 1886.

Application filed March 31, 1885. Serial No. 160.839. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, TILLIAM Gonr SEARS, acitizen of the United States, residing at Chattanooga, in the county of Hamilton and Stateof-Tennessee,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cotton Harvesters; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,

reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

I 5 This invention relates to an improvementin cottonharvesters for gathering cotton from the plants; and it consists of a construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described.

In the annexed drawings, illustrating the invention, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the eotton-harvcster. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of a portion of the machine, and Fig. 4 is asectional detail view of the brush and fan attachment.

Like letters of reference designate like parts in the several views.

A A are the wheels.

D is a bent axle, and B the body, of a carriage-frame which supports and carries the 0 mechanism of the harvester.

C G are cylindrical casings, of any desired width, whose circumferences are provided with medial flanges, c, and to the outside of each of which is secured a horizontal bar, P.

3 5 These bars I support shafts carrying the gearwheels G G and the radial arms H H H. The casings C- are provided with pivotal projections F, cast therewith, which are bored to exactly fit the axle, and by means of which the casings are attached to the axle. The ends of these projections are socketed or otherwise suitably formed to receive lever-arms Q, provided with pawls a, which engage with ratchet-bars R upon the box B of the carriage. The

upward or downward movement of the levers Q will correspondinglylower or raise the picking mechanism with the casings 0, since projections F are fulcrumed on the axle in the manner described. Thus the entire picking mechanism can be adjusted at any desired distance from the ground and from the cotton plants upon which it is to act, and can also be raised up out of the way of obstacles when the machine is notin operation. By this arrangement the rapid forward motion of the picking- 5 5 stems is allowed to pass underneath thelowermost branches of the cotton-plant, in order to prevent the continuous crowding forward of the cotton-plant, leaving the same in its natural position while the machine is passing and after it has passed over the cotton-plant.

To the hubs of the drive-wheels A A, and concentric therewith, are firmly attached gearwhcels E E, so that when the drive -wheels move forward the gears also revolve. These gears mesh with other gear-wheels, G G, and also with pinions O O. Gear-wheels G- Gare attached rigidly to the ends of shafts passing through bars P. Pinions O O are secured to the hubs of wheels N N, journaled in suitable 7o bearings upon the casings C, which wheels carry bands or chain-belts M, for driving the combined brush and exhaust fans L. The same shafts which carry the gears G G carry also radiating arms H on the opposite side of 7 5 the bar P. These radiating arms are fastened directly into a hub mounted rigidly on said shaft for their reception. Each of these arms has at its outer extremity a bearing, I, into which is journaled a friction-wheel, J, which in its revolutions rolls uponthe interior surface of the casing O. The spindle of each friction wheel or roller carries a friction-stem,

K, and the stem which I preferably use is that described and claimed in my former applica- 8 5 tion for Letters Patent, dated February 27, 1885, Serial No. 157,213.

The bearings I I may be provided with springs e,to give the friction wheels and stems greater ease of motion and to keep the wheels 0 always pressed against the casing, lost through lack of such pressure any of the stems should cease to revolve.

The brush-fan L S is situated within a cas ing or blast inclosure,T,which is secured upon 5 the upper portion of the casing G in any convenient manner. This fan L S is composed of blades S, constructed of a couple of pieces of sheet metal, between which the brush is placed and fastened to a shaft which is journaled in a bearing, X, which is attached to casing G, and which carries at its extremity the drivingpulley Y, to which motion is imparted by the belt M. There is also journaled in a support attached to the casingG a shaft, 1), which carries at one end a driving-pulley, W, and at the other a friction-pulley, V. The pulley W is situated directly in line with pulley Y, so as to work under the action of the belt M. Pulley V works through a slot in the casing 0, provided for the purpose and bears directly upon the friction-wheels J as each one is successively brought into contact with it.

The casing T has an opening, f, inits lower portion, so that each pieker-stemKin its revolution is brought under the direct action of the brushes. This frees them from the cotton, which is then driven up through the blast passage U into the box B, which serves as a receptacle to receive it, and when each stem K is brought under the action of the brusharms S S the friction-pulleyV bears upon the friction-wheels J, and revolves the stem K in an opposite or reverse direction,thus enabling the'entire surface of the stem to be brought under the action of the brushes,and to be entirely freed of whatever cotton, 850., it may have gathered.

It will be seen that this machine has duplicate mechanism, one portion on each side, although these two sides are entirely independent in all ways. It has therefore two sets of picking-stems, one upon each side of the row of cotton-plants. This is a great advantage, as it allows the free passage of the main stalks of the plants between the projecting ends of the pickingstems, so that the plant will not be injured by the machine, or the machine be clogged or broken by the stalks and branches of the plant. As the carriage, drawn by animal-power, moves forward through the field motion is imparted by the drive-wheels A A to the gears E E thereupon, thence to gears G- and pinions O. The gears G, driving the shafts to which are fastened the 'radial arms H,cause them to rotate. The friction-wheels J and the pickingstems K,'which they carry, are thus made to revolve. The picker-stems thus have two motions imparted to them, rotating about a common axis as well as about their individual axes.

The pinion 0 drives the wheel N, which, through the band M, conveys motion to the combined brush and fan L, whose function is to cleanse and free the stems from cotton gathered in transit. This is done as the stems are successively brought under the action of the fan in the manner above described.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a cotton-picker, the combination of a cylindrical casing, O, radial arms H H, mounted on a shaft journaled within said casing, and the picker-stems K and friction-wheels J, mounted on horizontal spindles journaled in the ends of said radial arms, said frictionwheels being in contact with the inner circumradial arms mounted on said shafts, and rotating picker-stems carried on the extremities of said arms and within the casings, a combined brush and exhaust fan, the drive-wheels, and means for operating the said parts, all combined, arranged, and operating substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination of the driving-wheels, having the gears E E, the bars P P, the shafts journaled in said bars and having gears G G, radial arms H H, provided with the bearings I I, picker-stems K K, journaled in said bearings and carrying friction-wheels J J, and the casings G O, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination of the rotary shafts, the radial arms mounted thereon, the pickerstems K, carried by said arms and having friction-wheels J, casing O, surrounding said friction-wheels, the casing T, the shaft 12, provided with the pulley W, and friction-wheel V, the fan-sh aft having the pulley Y, the bandwheel N, belt M, the fans and brushes L S, the drive-wheels, and the intermediate gearing for driving the whole, substantially as and for the purpose shown and described.

5. The combination, with the casings O G and the picker-stems K, of the fan-casings T T, provided with the longitudinal openingsf, and also with the draft-passages U, the friction-wheels V, the fans and brushes L S, and the receptacle B, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination of the revolving horizontal shaft, the radial arms mounted thereon,

the bearings I, carried in the extremities of the said arms, the springs e, the revolving picker-stems K, jonrnaled in said bearings and provided with the friction-wheels J, the surrounding casing 0, upon which said frietion-wheels roll, and means for rotating said shaft,whereby said picker-stems are caused to revolve about a common horizontal axis and at the same time about their own axes, substant-iall y as described.

7. In a cotton-harvester, the combination, with the picking mechanism described and shown, of pawls and ratchets and levers Q, by which the said mechanism is adjusted and held at any desired height above the plants during the picking operation, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signatui c in presence of two witnesses.

\VILLIAM GOFF SEARS.

\Vitnesses:

DANIEL J. DUFFY, LEONARD 130x012. 

